Zelensky Says Ukraine Needs 2.5 Times More F-16s in the Air at Once

The Ukrainian president told reporters on Friday that Western-supplied F-16s exist in the inventory but cannot all be flown at once, because the aircraft are constantly undergoing maintenance.

“As of today, we need two and a half times more aircraft in the air at once than the number we are using. That is, on paper we have all of this, but they are constantly undergoing maintenance because the F-16s are not young,” Volodymyr Zelensky said, according to Interfax-Ukraine and Ukrinform.

He added that Kyiv is working with the United States on the issue.

Jets Are Available on Paper

Zelensky was speaking ahead of a Ramstein-format meeting of Ukraine’s military backers, which he said he would join online next week.

“We are also urgently requesting F-16 fighter jets. There are limitations on their use because the aircraft are not new,” he said.

The comments describe a gap between the paper inventory and the number that can be kept in the air together.

Maintenance Work Kept Abroad

The F-16s now flying under Ukrainian colors have been supplied by European partners, including the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, and Belgium.

In an early October interview with the Financial Times, Zelensky said about half of the fleet spent extended periods in Europe for repairs and maintenance, with some returns delayed when the jets were most needed.

Kyiv has asked partners to move more of that work onto Ukrainian territory. A Ukrainian F-16 unit commander said this month that fleet sustainment was the greatest challenge, with ready aircraft at times well below 40 even as pledged deliveries approach about 100.

Ammunition for Jet-Powered Drones

Zelensky said the jets already intercept jet-powered Shahed drones, and that Ukraine needs 800,000 rounds of F-16 ammunition over six months for that mission.

“And during the meeting in Denmark, we agreed that they would resolve this issue. I am very grateful to them for this,” he said.

Clash Report earlier reported that Ukraine has turned to the F-16’s 20 mm cannon against faster Russian drones, and that a unit commander claimed 4,700 one-way attack drone shootdowns, mostly with the gun.

Appeals Before Next Week’s Talks

Zelensky said partners were also being asked to consider providing a share of European PAC-2 and PAC-3 stockpiles after talks in the Group of Friends of Ukraine.

He said Ukraine had submitted winter energy-package needs for Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia. Those requirements, he said, should be met in some form at Ramstein and at a Coalition of the Willing meeting in Berlin on November 19.

Belgium has previously said it plans to transfer three additional F-16s to Ukraine this year. Zelensky has also sought Swedish Gripen jets early in 2027 to reinforce that fleet.